Crop dusters air ideas on how to handle crises

Jace Radke

Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2001 | 9:16 a.m.

After being grounded in the wake of the terrorist attacks, crop dusters are looking for ways to make sure they stay airborne during future crises.

Pilots and government officials discussed a number of ideas, including putting transponders on planes, Tuesday at the National Agricultural Aviation Association Convention that runs through Thursday in Las Vegas.

The Federal Aviation Administration didn't make any promises to the hundreds of crop dusters at the convention, but officials did say that new regulations for agricultural aviation could be put in place by the spring.

While possible regulatory changes remain in the discussion stage, Tom Davidson, a spokesman with the FAA's air traffic services division, said crop dusters should look at starting public relations campaigns.

"There's a real threat and a perceived threat, and it's important that you show the public the positive side of this industry," Davidson said at the convention at the Tropicana. "If the public sees anything being sprayed over a large gathering we have a problem."

Crop dusters aren't often seen in Southern Nevada skies, with the only four agricultural planes in the state based in Northern Nevada.

Those planes and other crop dusters nationwide were grounded from Sept. 11-14, as the government worked to get airspace over the country reopened.

Crop dusters were grounded for another day on Sept. 16 after the FBI found that a man on their terrorist watch list, who had been arrested, had visited agricultural aviation websites, said Pat Kornegay, President of the Agricultural Aviation Association.

"Once it was determined that it wasn't a real threat, we were back in the air," said Kornegay, who represents more than 1,250 agricultural pilots in the United States and internationally. "Through their contact with us, security agencies have learned that if we're down they're actually opening a window for a threat.

"We provide a service that safeguards a major part of our food supply."

FBI special agent Mike Cook analyzed the possible threat that crop dusters could pose as instruments of bioterrorism, and authored a threat assessment that was sent to the attorney general and the head of the FBI.

"A lot of that is classified, but we did look at the viability of agricultural aircraft being used as dispersion devices," Cook said. "We know they can be, because that's what (crop dusters) use them for everyday. Then the question is would it be an effective way for a terrorist to carry out an attack."

Agricultural aircraft are difficult to fly, because of the added components needed to drop pesticides. Pilots must be adept at precision flying to get the planes to swoop and drop their payloads of the correct target zones.

It's those kind of aerobatic maneuvers that could cause a problem in the event that the national airspace is again shut down, Davidson said.

"These planes fly unusual flight paths that look strange to down-looking radar from military planes," Davidson said. "Agricultural pilots fly close to the ground, circle and hover, and that looks a little strange on radar."